Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a short distance wireless communication function and a wireless power supply function, and a power supply control method for the information processing apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, portable communication terminal apparatuses such as smartphones have rapidly prevailed. A portable communication terminal apparatus has a close proximity wireless communication function such as an NFC function, which allows transmission/reception of information by moving the apparatus closer to an external apparatus having an NFC function, resulting in very high convenience. One of problems imposed when using such portable communication terminal apparatus is battery consumption. For example, a smartphone is required to have a relatively small size because of its high convenience, and thus the capacity of an incorporated battery is limited. The battery may run out earlier than the user expected. As a measure against such problem, a wireless power supply system in which the battery of a smartphone can be charged by only placing the smartphone has been proposed. The wireless power supply system makes it possible to readily charge a smartphone without requiring the labor of the user.
If such wireless power supply function is included in a printing apparatus, it can be assumed that the compatibility between the smartphone and the printing apparatus becomes very high. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-229583 proposes a technique in which a portable communication terminal apparatus communicates print data to a printing apparatus while the printing apparatus wirelessly supplies power to the portable communication terminal apparatus.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-229583 described above, however, transmission of print data from the portable communication terminal apparatus to the printing apparatus and wireless power supply from the printing apparatus to the portable communication terminal apparatus have a one-to-one correspondence. Even when the user transmits print data from the smartphone to the printing apparatus, he/she does not want to supply power to the smartphone in some cases. For example, when the printing apparatus executes a printing operation, relatively large power is consumed. Especially when the battery of the printing apparatus has a small remaining amount, if the printing apparatus continues transmitting power to the smartphone, the battery of the printing apparatus may run out during printing.